download

download (ˈdaʊnˌləʊd)
—vb (tr)
1.	to copy or transfer (data or a program) into the memory of one computer system from a larger one
2.	Compare upload to broadcast specialist programmes, for such groups as doctors, outside normal broadcasting hours. They are often recorded on video tapes and viewed later
3.	esp (Canadian) to delegate or assign (work, responsibilities, costs, etc) to a someone at a lower level of an organization; off-load
—n
4.	a file transferred onto a computer from another computer or the internet
downloadable
—adj

download

download   (doun'lōd')  Pronunciation Key  To transfer data or programs from a server or host computer to one's own computer or digital device. Compare upload.

download

vt.
1. [techspeak] To transfer data or (esp.) code from a larger `host' system (esp. a mainframe) over a digital comm link to a smaller `client' system, esp. a microcomputer or specialized peripheral. Oppose upload.
2. [jargon] To fetch data (especially large relatively standalone pieces of data like files and images) over the wire from a remote location.

However, note that ground-to-space communications has its own usage rule for this term. Space-to-earth transmission is always `down' and the reverse `up' regardless of the relative size of the computers involved. So far the in-space machines have invariably been smaller; thus the upload/download distinction has been reversed from its usual sense.

download definition

jargon
To transfer data from one computer to another. Downloading usually refers to transfer from a larger "host" system (especially a server or mainframe) to a smaller "client" system, especially a microcomputer or specialised peripheral, and "upload" usually means from small to large.
Others hold that, technically, download means "receive" and upload means "send", irrespective of the size of the systems involved.
Note that in communications between ground and space, space-to-earth transmission is always "down" and the reverse "up", regardless of size. So far the in-space machines have invariably been smaller; thus the upload/download distinction has been reversed from its usual sense.
[Jargon File]
(2003-11-04)